Instruction:
In this exercise you will be comparing two medieval societies among the list below using only your textbook as you main source and one primary source among those listed in the ALLOWED SOURCES.
Your essay must be at least 700-1000 words, must be double-spaced, and must include all of the following components:
- An introduction which frames the subject by dates, historical locations, and introduces two key historical figures pertinent to your subject.
- A thesis, which argues your perspective on the subjects you are discussing.
- A methodology–this is a key section as it states what your sources are, specifically, and how they have assisted you in your writing.
- You main body of evidence–this is the part of your essay where you support your thesis with specific evidence from the ALLOWED SOURCES.
- A Conclusion, which reiterates you main points.
- An alphabetized Turabian format bibliography.
- Throughout your essay you must include Turabian style footnotes in each and every paragraph as none of the material in your essay will be what is known as common knowledge.
- Paraphrase your source content–block quotes (that is overly long quotes, more than a sentence in length) are not allowed. If you use a quote you must explain its meaning.
Here are your allowed subjects–remember, you MUST rely only on the allowed sources listed below these options:
- Compare Justinian’s Byzantium with the Islamic Ummayad Dynasty.
- Compare the reforms initiated by the Prophet Muhammad with those of Charlemagne, King of the Franks.
- Compare the society of medieval Christian Europe with that of the Islamic Middle East of the same era.
- Compare the treatment of women in medieval Christian Europe and the Islamic Empires to the year 1000.
- Compare the economy opportunities and urban life in medieval Christian Europe with the booming economies of the medieval Islamic world.
ALLOWED SOURCES:
- Your BERGER, World History: Cultures, States, and Societies textbook.
- ONE primary source found in one of these sources:
- Justinian: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook1c.asp#Justinian
- Carolingian Europe: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook1h.asp
- Ummayad Dynasty: The Pact of Umar: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/pact-umar.asp
- Women in Medieval Europe and Medieval Islam
- https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/women/womensbook.asp#Medieval%20Europe
- http://web.archive.org/web/20000229204333/http://www.humanities.ccny.cuny.edu/history/reader/koranonwomen.htm